Could you tell us a bit about your significant successes in your role?
I’ve been employed by QBE’s general insurance business for about nine years and have held several different legal roles in that time. In my current role, I manage a team of lawyers and paralegals that support the legal needs of the claims division of the business. We do this by partnering with the business, forging strong relationships and developing our knowledge of the different claims’ areas and their legal and business challenges.
In a partnering model I measure success based on the quality of the relationships we have with our stakeholders, on our ability to both grow our own knowledge and skills and impart our knowledge, training and expertise within the business, and on legal output as well as the additional value we add to the business through identification of issues, emerging trends and risks and the adoption of a problem-solving mindset. For example, issues identified within one division of the business may be impacting the broader business, customers and other stakeholders, so being able to join the dots and collaborate on a solution to a broader problem is very satisfying.
In your opinion, what are the qualities and skills needed to form a strong legal team?
The qualities and skills of a good in-house legal team are a strong technical legal foundation, together with an innate curiosity for the business and industry you work in, excellent collaboration and problem-solving skills. I’m a believer in there being a solution to every problem and many ways to achieve a desired outcome. Curiosity can go a long way to assisting lawyers to navigate creative legal solutions.
What is the biggest risk to your industry or organisation and how are you contributing to prepare your organisation for this?
Where we identify risks or issues, my role as a legal advisor is to raise awareness of these issues and advocate for and support positive change that benefits our business and our customers.
What challenges have you overcome to get to the position you are in today?
The challenges I overcame, to get to where I am today, include arriving in this country from Iceland and learning English as a 7-year-old, growing up in a family with no connection to the legal industry, graduating from law school, amid a global financial crisis, when legal opportunities and roles were scarce, and starting a family and trying to strike the right work/life balance, to ensure I have time to guide and support my children whilst managing a busy career. Hard work, perseverance, patience and resilience have all helped me to get to where I am.
